Thailand’s prime minister said on Tuesday that he has commissioned a study to look into issuing COVID-19 vaccination certificates for international travellers, as the country seeks to revive a tourism industry battered by coronavirus curbs. Meanwhile, EU is going to propose vaccine certificates in time for summer holidays. The Southeast Asian nation has been mulling the idea of so-called “vaccine passports”, but no target date has been set and tourism operators have complained about lost revenue. A Thai traditional giant statue wears a protective mask, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun/Files Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said Thailand will proceed with caution, waiting to see how effective vacci...
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Setting a new precedent in naturally inspired design and luxurious living in the greatest aquatic paradise on earth, Anantara Kihavah Maldives Villas has launched its collection of the largest private pool residences in the world with the renovation completion of the resort’s two-bedroom over water pool residences. A multi-million-dollar project which started in 2020 with the redesign of its four, three and two-bedroom beach pool residences, this exclusive collection of Maldivian accommodation experiences, comprising of seven, is the pinnacle of palatial seclusion, ideally suited for multi-generational vacations and larger group travel. Inspired by the natural beauty of the island encircled by a pure white shoreline, the renovation of the residences saw a careful preservation of th...
Read MoreA UNESCO World Heritage site in Poland is being used to help people recover from COVID-19, with patients going deep underground in the Wieliczka salt mine to a therapeutic centre dealing with respiratory illness. Famous for its ornate underground chapels carved from salt, the Wieliczka mine, located just outside the southern city of Krakow, is one of Poland’s biggest tourist attractions, drawing around 1.8 million visitors in 2019. But doctors say the micro-climate in the mine, which stretches as far as 327 metres underground, also helps people with pulmunory problems. Magdalena Kostrzon, a doctor working at the mine, told Reuters that patients with respiratory illnesses have been coming there since the 19th century. “The underground micro-climate is, above all, characteri...
Read MoreWith a view to renovating its station buildings to enhance their heritage value, the Bengaluru division of the South Western Railway (SWR) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a non-profit organisation. The Railway officials signed the MoU with Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACT) on Thursday, the SWR said in a press statement. Four old station buildings on KSR Bengaluru- Chikkaballapur-Kolar railwayline, Devanahalli, Doddajala, Avathihalli and Nandi Halt would be restored and preserved, the SWR said in a statement. Besides, the stations in Rajanukunte, Oorgaum, Champion and Chintamani are to be developed as heritage railway stations, the statement said. "The MoU seeks to restore and preserve heritage railway stations at Doddajala, De...
Read MoreCanaries, parakeets and zebra finches will no longer chirp from small cages in the shadow of Notre Dame cathedral, after Paris voted to close its 19th-century bird market, deeming it inappropriate for this day and age. Held on Sundays, the market on the Ile de la Cite island in the Seine river has been a magnet for tourists and Parisians with children for decades, but an animal rights group’s campaign against it and plans to renovate the site led to a city council decision to close it. “The market had become the epicentre of bird trafficking in the Paris region, including of endangered birds,” Paris deputy mayor Christophe Najdovksi told Reuters. “A second reason for closing it is that the conditions in which the birds are presented are no longer acceptable,” he said. ...
Read MoreVisitBritain, St Lucia, Fiji and Ethiopia join the growing list of destinations to get global safety and hygiene stamp Following its launch in May last year, the highly popular Safe Travels stamp from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), has now been awarded to a remarkable 250 destinations around the world. WTTC, which has continually been at the forefront in leading the private sector in the efforts to rebuild global consumer confidence and encourage the return of Safe Travels, made history when it launched the world’s first ever global safety and hygiene stamp, just eight months ago. A view of Saint Lucia The stamp, developed to help restore confidence in travellers and aims to revive the global Travel & Tourism sector which has been devastated by the COVID-19...
Read MoreOne of the favourite places for tourists coming to valley, Tulip garden in Srinagar would likely be thrown open earlier this year in case the prevalent weather conditions persist in the Valley, officials said on Thursday. Director Floriculture Fayaz Ahmad Rather said that the date for opening the Tulip garden at Siraj Bagh has not been decided yet as it is subjected to the weather conditions. “We are expecting an early opening of the garden this year due to the rise in the temperature,” he said. He said that the garden is being thrown open in the last week of March every year, but this year may be thrown open early in case the prevalent weather conditions continue. “If the weather conditions remain good then the garden will be thrown open around March 20,” he said. ...
Read More15-year-old polar bear male, called Nord, has moved to Ranua Zoo in Finland on Monday February 22nd, 2021 Nord came from Denmark, Skandinavisk Dyrepark. Nord was born in Moscow Zoo and the transfer was performed due to recommendation from EAZA´s (European Association of Zoos and Aquaria) polar bear coordinator. Nord left Denmark on Friday, February 19th, and he arrived to his new home on Monday morning. The transportation went well and Nord had a good appetite the moment he got to his new den. Nord will spend first days in his new home by getting used to his surroundings and his new keepers, and he might be hiding in the den occasionally. If all goes well, he will meet the female, Venus, later this spring. So far they will live in their own enclosures, and cubs are not expect...
Read MoreThe shared values and close ties between tourism and culture stakeholders means both sectors can work together to ensure inclusive access to heritage, as countries around the world recover from the pandemic. In recognition of this mutually reinforcing relationship, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and UNESCO have collaborated to produce a set of new guidelines focusing on the responsible restart of cultural tourism. UNWTO invited the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to contribute to the UNWTO Inclusive Recovery Guide, Issue 2: Cultural Tourism. This is the second set of guidelines relating to the socio-cultural impacts of COVID-19 issued by UNWTO and will continue to be revised, as the situation evolves. Make cultural tourism relevant The pu...
Read MorePrevented from travelling abroad by the pandemic, Kazakhs are flocking to the magnificent glaciers of the Tian Shan mountain range near their country’s biggest city, Almaty. “The number of tourists last year was several times bigger than in previous years, especially local tourists,” says mountain guide Mikhail Kamirasov. “People can’t go abroad now and they have started going to the mountains. This is literally a pilgrimage site now.” A tourist visits the Oktyabrskaya cave of the Bogdanovich glacier located in the Tian Shan mountain range near Almaty, Kazakhstan February 20, 2021. REUTERS/Pavel Mikheyev Kamirasov takes visitors to the Bogdanovich glacier 3,500 metres (11,500 feet) above sea level and featuring a bowl-shaped formation which some have used to produce otherworldly ...
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